unReal
by fairym0th
Summary: Her imagination had never been the greatest. But now, in the year of 2287, the sole survivor of Vault 111 wishes more than anything that she could remember every little detail of her life before the war. Eventual F!SS x MacCready. Gentle canon divergence.
1. prologue

**A/N: Hi there, folks! Andi here :)**

 **This is my first shot** ** _ever_** **at extensively writing fanfiction, let alone something that is standalone in the Fallout universe. I really love writing and developing characters, so I wanted to give myself a chance to take the canon storyline of FO4 and switch it up quite a bit with my F!SS because who doesn't like a hefty amount of good ol' fashioned angst? Well, if you're not so fond of it, this story is very likely not for you because the main character is a mess. So is MacCready, and you bet your ass this is a F!SS x MacCready fic.**

 **This will very likely be the only chapter wherein I write in first person POV and it was definitely important for me to do so for this chapter for Tallulah's development. Every other chapter will be third person and past tense,** ** _but_** **the story may showcase other characters from time to time instead of being solely (hah,** ** _sole_** **) Tallulah-centric.**

 **Anyway, I genuinely hope you enjoy this despite the fact that it is very likely rambly at times. I will always take constructive criticism so long as it is polite. If anyone wants to help me proofread, just shoot me a message and we can definitely discuss it! I'm one of those writers who is constantly rereading stuff and "correcting" things so much that everything just eventually becomes a different story lmao**

 **The rating is currently M and is subject to change from chapter to chapter. I** ** _don't recommend_** **anyone that is under the age of 18 read this story.**

 **Thank you!** xo

* * *

 **Prologue  
**

* * *

I actually never wanted to be a mother.

After several visits to the doctor and a rather established diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome, I was _more_ than convinced that I was barren. But here I am, standing in front of my great grandmother's mirrored armoire with my hands planted right on my stomach where a life is growing inside of me. This little life was blossoming right before my eyes, sending vines of purple tension marks up my abdomen – little reminders that I was in my third trimester and would soon be giving birth to a baby boy.

I couldn't help but swallow hard as Nate snaked his arms around my midsection. His fingers tenderly traced patterns into my blouse, and his lips pressed against my temple before curling into a pleased smile at the sight of my colossal bump. That week prior, he proposed that we name the baby Shaun. "A gift from God". The meaning was revolutionary to my husband, and I felt awful for even thinking that I hated the name.

"You look beautiful today, Tallulah," Nate spun me around and enveloped me in a long, loving embrace. I sighed against his mouth after he gave me another brief kiss. My forehead bowed forward into his as he continued, "I love you more than anything. Shaun too."

Looking back on it now, I can't believe that I had ever taken those moments for granted. I was so lucky, and the moment that I finally held Shaun in my arms was the moment that my world turned upside down. I was hopelessly in love with the baby boy whose existence I had doubted for so many months.

Shaun was a remarkably quiet little boy. There were precious few moments when he cried. When he did, my heart broke thousands of times over with each little tear that dribbled down his tawny cheeks. To tell you the truth, I was almost remarkable at comforting him. I can admit that it took me quite a while to get a feel for being a mother but when I finally got my bearings, I wasn't half bad at it. I was filling a role that I had never once considered to be possible.

Being a mother filled me full of pride, and obtaining my degree in criminal justice (which was admittedly one of my greatest achievements) paled in comparison to the overwhelming love I felt when I looked at my little family.

Just when I thought I had finally found my niche in this strange and often terrible world, everything crumbled into millions of pieces.

And I lost it all the day the bombs fell.


	2. just look at the way we fell

**A/N: Hi again! This is the first full-length chapter of UnReal and as you will likely see, it deviates from the canon storyline quite a bit, but I worked excruciatingly hard to make it as cohesive as I possibly could in order to work well with the version of Fallout 4 that I wanted to be able to tell. The story _will_ be divided into "acts" labeled in Roman numerals for both yours and my convenience :)  
**  
 **With that being said, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _ **i.  
**_

* * *

The morning of October 23rd was beautiful. The sun was peeking curiously through the crimson and butternut leaves that adorned the maple trees throughout the idyllic neighborhood of Sanctuary. It was a picturesque Saturday that was surely destined to be a perfect day.

Yet here Nate was, knuckles white from gripping at the sink. There was a particular fire in his eyes that Tallulah hadn't seen since he'd been deployed. She couldn't help but laugh as her body slumped against the doorframe.

"You're not going to touch any hearts if you stare at the crowd like that, you oaf."

His head snapped backward and those light brown orbs of his bore holes into the smug look that dressed her face. Nate sighed in defeat, clearly perturbed by the events that the night held in store for him. Tallulah's smirk faded and her tongue clicked against the roof of her mouth apologetically as she sauntered up to him. Her chin caught his shoulder and she pulled her body closer to his.

"I'm not good at this whole comforting thing, you know," She muttered as her eyelids flickered shut. She could feel his body relax slightly as he leaned into her. "I'm sorry for teasing you."

"I know, I know. I'm just... nervous. What if it's too much?"

"Don't second guess yourself, Nathaniel Williams." Tallulah broke away from him to adjust the clip that kept her curls semi-contained in a pathetic little side bun. As she went to make her leave, she called over her shoulder with a huff, "Besides, I'll kick anyone's ass who laughs at your speech."

Nate's deep laugh rumbled through the hallway.

"I knew I married the right woman. Thanks, babe."

Tallulah stretched her arms over her head as she entered the kitchen where Codsworth had been clanging around in the sink, washing the morning dishes. The robot spun around energetically the moment that he noticed her, a rag in one metal appendage and one of Shaun's bottles in the other.

"Hello, mum! The morning paper has been delivered and your coffee has been prepared!" Tallulah would _never_ get used to that metallic British accent. "Black as always and brewed to _perfection_. Please do enjoy while I finish the morning chores."

With a nod, she slid onto one of the bar stools and pulled the mug close to her person before blowing some of the coffee's steam away.

"Thanks, Codsworth."

"You're absolutely welcome, mum!"

Not even moments after she'd taken her first sip, a wail echoed from Shaun's nursery. Tallulah's spine straightened in response to her son's cries and before she could excuse herself to tend to her baby, Codsworth had practically lurched at the opportunity to take care of the situation.

"Relax and enjoy your coffee, mum. I'll take care of young Shaun!" He called back, disappearing far more quickly than she could even think about protesting.

Tallulah sighed as Nate had finally emerged from the bathroom, a small smile replacing the previously frustrated grimace on his face. She cocked her head to the side and continued to nurse her coffee while he grabbed the seat next to her, grabbing the brand new Boston Bugle.

"We should take Codsworth to get serviced soon, don't you think?" He asked, flipping absentmindedly through the sheets. Tallulah ran a hand through her curls as she hummed flippantly in response.

Almost like clockwork, the doorbell chimed and Nate ushered her to answer it. She'd been ignoring the salesman for days now, hoping that he'd get the picture and just stop coming around. Alas, he had not, and would presumably continue to not until Tallulah verbally assaulted him into going away.

She ripped the door open, eyes narrowed down at the short, ginger-haired man. He cleared his throat and tipped his hat in greetings.

"Good morning! Vault-Tec calling!"

"Not interested," She'd said simply before allowing the door to slam right in the poor man's face. Nate shook his head and waved his hand about as Tallulah made her way back to the kitchen. "What?"

"That was terrible, Lu."

"Well, we're not interested."

"Be more engaging. Nicer. Our neighbors think you're a witch, you know."

Tallulah groaned dramatically before turning on her heel and stomping back to the door when it was reopened, the salesman perked up and offered her a grin which was met with a scowl.

"Sorry to be a pest, ma'am. I'm here in regards to your recent clearance for entry to Vault 111," He thrust a bundle of papers towards her with gusto. She took them in her hands apprehensively. He waited a moment for her to give the papers a once-over before he continued with his sales pitch. "I'm excited to finally be able to speak with you. This is a matter of utmost urgency, I assure you."

"Urgency?" Tallulah's eyes darted upwards to his, brow arched in curiosity. This didn't sound like what she'd expected.

"If you haven't noticed, ma'am, this country has gone to heck in a handbasket!" He cleared his throat once more, cheeks growing pink after his social faux-pas. She sighed and motioned for him to continue. "Excuse my language. The big kaboom is... inevitable, I'm afraid. It's coming sooner than we might think!... If you catch my meaning."

"Sure."

Tallulah didn't really consider _"total nuclear annihilation"_. The opposing countries had been, in her words, flashing their dicks back and forth for years at this point. She was pretty positive that it just wouldn't happen. But her fingers caught her temple in thought where they massaged a vein. In the event that something were to happen... just in that single thought alone, her family's safety was her priority.

Tallulah heard Nate chortle in response to when she finally cut the representative off and asked for a pen. She'd be sure to give him shit for the whole "I told you so" crap he would be sure to pull later on. But with a few strokes of a pen, the Williams family had secured a safe (yet entirely improbable) future in the local vault. Just as a precaution, of course.

"Thank you for your time! I'll be sure to run these over to the vault as soon as possible!" The rep had to call through the crack of the door as it was once again shutting prematurely in his face.

Nate shot her a cocky smile as she approached him, prodding him in the side in a chastising manner before he sounded off about being proud of her for "doing the right thing". She scratched the back of his neck in affirmation and patted his back as Codsworth hovered out of Shaun's nursery, the infant's cries bouncing after him down the hall.

"Miss Tallulah, I do think that Shaun requires some of that maternal affection that you seem to be so good at."

Tallulah's cheeks dimpled with delight as she quickly made her way to the newborn's quaint red, white, and blue toned room (courtesy of _Nate_ ). Tallulah quietly shuffled over to cobalt confines of his crib and peered down at him with a smile. Her fingers danced along his sternum while she haphazardly whistled a little tune. He was almost instantaneously calmed by her touch, and she took a moment to brush one of his dark curls behind his ear while Nate stood in the doorway.

"Y'know, I fixed his mobile the other day. Why don't you give it a test drive?"

She bit the inside of her cheek to suppress a smile as she glanced back down at her boy after giving the little spaceship contraption a spin. A calming lullaby danced around them for a moment and Shaun giggled, little fingers extending towards the mobile.

"We could go to the park later," Nate poked his head over the edge of the crib and playfully stuck his tongue out at Shaun. He grabbed Tallulah's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Weather should hold up. We really should get out before it starts snowing."

"I guess," She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Ah, you're right. We should. Let's bring the camera."

Nate's deep laughter made her chest feel warm.

"Sounds like a date."

* * *

 _ **ii.  
**_

* * *

Everything after the alarms sounded was a blur.

Tallulah couldn't remember how her sneakers pounding against the pavement felt. She couldn't remember what the cloud of dust and radiation barreling towards her and her family felt like. She could not remember a single fucking thing. Especially not over the sound of her blood rushing into her ears or Shaun whimpering in her arms. The only thing that brought her back to reality was her husband's calloused hand on her shoulder. She'd gasped audibly but when she felt the current of his touch sting her skin, she was able to breathe again.

"That fucking happened, right?" Tallulah's voice was quiet and raspy from the overexertion that it took to sprint through the hills and to the vault in time. She swallowed hard and exhaled shakily while she brought Shaun closer to her breast. "That really fucking happened."

"Yeah," Nate was visibly shaken as well, but he was doing a damn remarkable job at retaining more composure than she was. But then again, nukes had just dropped onto their side of the fucking planet. "It did, but we're safe. We. Are. Safe."

 _We're safe_ , he'd said. And she took some comfort in it, she really did.

"At least we won't have to pay the mortgage anymore, right?"

Tallulah was the queen of sputtering out bad jokes at the most inopportune times, but this actually (some _fucking_ how) made him smile, and he didn't shake his head this time. Right now, they needed all the distractions in the world.

The gate to the lift creaked open and artificial light flooded into the small space. People dressed in gaudy suits greeted them, one of which was a man that gave them brief instructions to head up the stairs where their "new lives" awaited. She didn't entirely like the sound of that. Nothing needed to be new, but the surface above was likely in flames. Everything was gone. Her heart dropped, but she took Nate's hand and allowed him to guide her up the stairs.

Her ears twitched when a man with a clipboard made a quiet remark about Shaun, and when she looked over at him, all he had to offer her was a smile. Something about it didn't look right.

Everyone here was almost mechanical in the way they interacted with the new, unfortunate residents. The woman who handed Nate their Vault suits donned a cloyingly sweet smile that made Tallulah's breakfast churn in her stomach. The cheerful woman then instructed them to follow the doctor down the corridor where they'd be able to finish up with this goddamned awkward orientation.

She had plenty of questions, but the one rational voice in her head instructed her to remain quiet. Just for now.

When they'd ventured deeper into the vault, Tallulah couldn't help but be unsettled by the clusters of pods that decorated the ugly concrete rooms. She took another deep breath and allowed Nate to comfort Shaun for a moment while she pulled on her suit. It was terribly tight and rather uncomfortable. Not at all fashionable like the woman up front had said. It made her feel like she was jammed tight into a sausage casing, but she had to grin and bear it for Nate and Shaun.

When she'd finished, she took Shaun back into her arms and joined lips with Nate. He held her in silence for a moment before whispering, "I love you" into her ear. She returned the sentiment before stepping into the pod as she was instructed. _Decontamination_ , they'd said.

If it had only been decontamination things would have been just fine. But they weren't.

* * *

 _ **iii.**_

* * *

When the world finally started to fade back in, the only thing that registered to Tallulah was the body of her son trembling in her arms. A breath caught in her throat and she broke out into a fit of coughing as room temperature air assaulted her numb limbs. Her vision was unbelievably blurry and she could hardly breathe. What had happened?

Foreign hands intrusively grabbed her arms, and they were trying their damnedest to rip Shaun from her grasp. Tallulah's body pivoted side to side as she tried to keep the stranger from taking away her son.

"No– No! I've got him," She protested, her foot desperately trying to force the suited figure back. Shaun was screaming right alongside her. They were both confused and afraid. "Get the fuck away from us!"

In the midst of the chaos, the thick barrel of a revolver was jammed into her face. Tallulah was barely able to make out the scar that disfigured his face, but god, he was a sight to behold. He undulated a quick demand,

"Let the boy go."

"Get that gun out of my fucking face, you monster–"

The sharp snap of a gunshot and the sudden searing pain on the side of her head made her collapse back into the chamber. Tallulah could barely register the feeling of her son leaving her arms, and she was forced back into the darkness of the pod as the door latched back into place.

The last thing that the ex-detective could make out before she succumbed to the darkness of death could have been enough to defibrillate her entirely, but it didn't. It couldn't have.

"What a mess. Is the man alive at least?"

"No, it looks like he had a heart attack as we brought them out of cryo."

"Should've known this would've gone sideways somehow."

Opaque, inky patches obscured her vision before she finally gave in to the nagging exhaustion that plagued her brain. Tallulah knew that she was going to die someday but she never thought she'd die first and before her son.

There was no God here.

* * *

 _ **iv.  
**_

* * *

It was almost as if only an instant had passed. Maybe one second. Two at most, Tallulah was sure of that. It couldn't have been more than just a few minutes... could it?

How was she even alive?

Ice cleared out of her lungs with a hard cough and she slammed forward against the door of her damned torture pod as it was opening, only for her to collapse into an entirely crumpled heap on the slab of concrete that could never pass for a floor of what should have been a home for the people that had been carefully boxed up into freezers.

It took Tallulah but a few seconds to scramble to her feet and stumble over to Nate's pod. She slammed her fists on the control console, having not an ounce of knowledge for what button did what. Finally, after a long string of Spanish curses and frenzied smashing, the door hissed far too ominously before exposing Nate's stiff, cold body.

Oh no. No. _No_.

"Nate! Baby, wake up," She was shaking him violently, trying her hardest to wake him up. The deep russet color of his cheeks was now a pallid beige. He didn't even look like himself. "No. Nate, you have to help me find Shaun! Wait... Shaun–"

Tallulah's face dropped in recognition of what she had just said. Shaun was missing. Someone had come right into the vault and taken Shaun away from her. Not before shooting her, though. Speaking of which... she wasn't dead. She was living, breathing, and very much so alive.

Vibrantly so, even.

It took her a minute of pacing back and forth for her to recall what had happened in full; she was shot, yes, but the clawed clip that had been keeping her kinky curls together was shattered and little plastic pieces were tangled in her locks. The goddamned fucking clip saved her life. She laughed bitterly, hot tears collecting in the corners of her eyes as she wiped away crystals of blood from her scalp and moved back towards Nate. The tears finally spilled through her lashes as she gave him one final kiss.

"I'll find who did this, and I'll get Shaun back. I _promise_."


	3. stuck in the violence

**A/N: There's a particular lack of MacCready in this chapter and _yes he was definitely promised_ in this story but I swear that in the next chapter, Creads is going to make his big entrance and boy, it's gonna be grand. Probably ;)**

 **Also, thank you so much to anyone who has started reading this mess of a story that is mine! Reviews are far more than appreciated. Let me know if there are any nuances to this story that you're missing out on. Feel free to ask me any questions!**

 **xo**

* * *

 _ **i.** **  
**_

* * *

Tallulah stopped counting the time that she'd been out of Vault 111 after she'd had her run-in with the very last of the Commonwealth's "Minutemen". She'd pointed them in the direction of her old neighborhood and refused to exchange any more _pleasantries_ after the absolutely mental battle she didn't have time to get involved in in the first place.

And she sure as hell did not expect her first day out of the vault to include, in no specific order: getting shot at (again), almost getting stabbed and/or clubbed, having to dismantle a minigun off of a crashed vertibird using a positively trashed suit of power armor (and breaking one of the legs in the process of jumping off the roof of a museum), and finally tearing a mutated lizard to shreds using aforementioned minigun.

She needed to find her son, and not a single one of those people was a help even after she risked her life to save them. Hell, Tallulah almost wrang the neck of the elderly woman when she tried to insinuate that she knew where Shaun was. _The Sight_ , what a crock of shit. Annoyed, battered and equipped with a pocketful of the wasteland's new currency (fucking bottle caps— of course), the scorned mother turned on the heel of her boot and bailed on the group before they could ask for any more help.

Thankfully, they pointed her in the direction of a settlement by the name of Diamond City. It was a start, albeit a messy one. But she had _something_.

* * *

 _ **ii.**_

* * *

The only company that Tallulah had chosen to bring along with her into the ruins of Boston was that of a very likely purebred German Shepherd. How he'd survived out in this world on his own, she'd never know, but there was one thing for certain: his resilience would come in handy in some way or another.

 _Dogmeat,_ Tallulah had decided to call him, and he was a good dog too. He often helped her find old food and occasionally stumbled across the rare stimpak or two. He was a remarkable creature, and after having several run-ins with more chem-addled creeps she was more than convinced that she'd probably taken another bullet to the head without him. And if she'd had to speak about taking another bullet to the head, Tallulah would seethe about the gouge on the side of her head.

It had taken her days to weave throughout the outskirts of the city in shambles before she was actually able to find a bridge that wasn't being guarded tooth and nail by giant crabs, feral dogs, or more of those _too friendly_ junkies. Thankfully when she had, Tallulah was able to find a change of darker (though substantially filthier) clothes that would offer her significantly more protection and camouflage than the garish vault suit. But now, she was running out of bullets and food. It was taking her a long longer than she'd anticipated finding her way to Diamond City, and by God was she running on fumes.

In the early morning when everything was quiet, the dilapidated remains of Brookline avenue seemed to glow with promise upon the approach to what used to be Fenway Park. There was power, and the sound of the drones from the high-powered generators filled her full of an energy that she'd been lacking for days. The settlement was just a few blocks away now.

Un _fucking_ fortunately enough, their good luck ran dry the moment that a hail of bullets from the buildings above pierced the cement surrounding them. Whatever was shooting didn't have that good of aim, and that lack of talent gave Tallulah and Dogmeat a window to make a break for a run-down building that would have to suffice for a transitory base of operations.

"Fuck, Dogmeat, get down boy," Tallulah dipped down behind a row of cash registers and ripped her 9mm pistol out of its holster. The ball of fur seemed to cling to the ground, growling as the bullets continued to fall from the sky. "We're gonna find a way outta here."

Raucous laughter bounced off of the buildings as she peeked over the countertop that was her safe haven.

"Human for lunch, human for lunch!" The voice was _human_ but it also wasn't. There was no proper way for her to describe it, but Tallulah was no longer surprised by the shit that post-war America had to offer. "We eat you now! Hahaha!"

There were no shells for her looted shotgun (thanks, bludgeoned raider) left _which really_ would've helped right about now, but two oversized crabs had tried to jump her about a mile out from the stadium so that was an almost immediate bust. The 9 mil would have to suffice for now.

Tallulah clicked the chamber of her pistol open and quickly forced the last three of her rounds into the barrel. She had seven shots left, and there was _definitely_ more than one of whatever these things were out there. This was going to be tricky, and the tumble runs that her stomach was doing was not helping. She didn't dare order Dogmeat out into the frenzy of a firefight either.

A couple of deep breaths later and Tallulah rose from her painful position on the linoleum and lined her sights up with a rather disgusting green head that was curiously poking out from behind a windowsill. It was waiting for an opportune moment to strike.

"Well, you're not getting your chance, you motherfucker."

She'd never had a happy trigger finger until now, but it took two shots to the head to take down the burly green giant. Fuck, this was something that should've come straight out of a Grognak comic.

With two rounds gone, Tallulah herself was sweating enough bullets to take down an army. She had no idea what to do next, and just when she was about to give up and make a run for it, an alarming amount of armed men bolted onto the scene with their weapons fucking _blazing_. Who were these cats and why were they helping her? Thank fucking God they were, though, because without them she wouldn't have been able to walk out of there alive.

After what seemed like ages and also five bullets that she couldn't spare later, the green _people_ (could you even call them that?) were all down and dead... or at least sputtering on mouthfuls of their own blood. When she brought herself to her feet one of her saviors approached and she was finally able to double over to catch a breath.

In any other situation, Tallulah would've keeled over and died from laughter at what he was wearing. Repurposed umpire gear from the looks of it, but it kept him safe and that's what mattered. She'd really have to look into getting a chest piece if shit like this existed.

"Damn, girl. not afraid of muties are ya?"

Muties. Mutants? What wasn't a mutant around here anymore sans the few hundreds of humans that were left? Semantics. She couldn't find an ounce of a fuck to give about what they were. All she cared about was that they were currently on the ground.

"Guess not," She straightened up and gave Dogmeat an affirming pat on the back for behaving as well as he had. "Just a hunch, but you're with Diamond City, right?"

"Sure am. Follow the signs and get yourself some more bullets. Looting these bodies are off limits. Mayor's orders."

Mayor, huh? This was gonna be fucking spectacular.

* * *

 _ **iii.  
**_

* * *

"Dammit, Danny! I'm stuck out here for crying out loud," Piper Wright ripped her cap off and tossed it onto the ground in anger. Some random waster had been privy to the last minute of her angry screeching, which was not very becoming by the way. "Do you really want me to get eaten alive by super mutants? Come on! Let me in!"

"Sorry, Piper. No can do. Mayor McDonough is friggin' _pissed_ about that article you wrote," A hefty, exasperated sigh could be heard from over the speakers. "Come back tomorrow when things have cooled off."

"Tomorrow? _Tomorrow?!_ You can't be serious—"

In the blink of an eye, the peeved reporter had been shoved away from the speaker box by aforementioned waster and was left only with a look of pure, beet red shock stamped on her face. When Piper's lips had parted to give this person a piece of her mind, a rather dirty look was shot her way. Piper huffed and her mouth lips stretched into a thin line, arms crossing over her chest as the woman leaned down to the speaker. Her voice was thick and seemed to drip from her teeth like coagulated pre-war honey.

"I just emptied the last of my rounds into a metric fuckton of mutants outside of your walls," Um, _wow_. She wasn't fucking around, was she? "So you're going to open this gate right now. You can leave this girl out here for all I care."

"Excuse me?!"

Piper's chest puffed out as the woman's body pivoted almost _mechanically_ towards her. The look that the stranger was giving her would've been enough to shut a normal person up, but not her. Nope, Piper knew when the opportunity to shut her damn mouth was presented but by God she never took it.

"You don't have any right to say that to me!"

The woman clenched her bloody knuckles tight and _hard_ before running a hand through her curly, knotted hair before allowing that hand to grip the side of the speaker box. How dare she not even dignify Piper with a response?

"Now, c'mon, kid. I have people to see, places to be, and money to spend."

The dog that had trailed up behind her offered an affirmative bark that filled the silence on the other end of the box. Finally, another sigh was uttered before the motors behind the gate roared to life and allowed them entry. Well, _them_ was a generous word, but Piper stormed into the lobby after placing her raggedy news cap right back on her head like she was the second coming of Jesus Christ himself.

And, almost like _clockwork_ , McDonough had slithered like a damned snake out of the elevator behind the security desk.

"Piper! Get out of my city right this instant!"

"We're not technically in the city yet, _McDonough._ "

Piper's lips coiled over her teeth in a snarl as the rude scavver (who knows what she was, Piper was just grasping at straws now) joined her at her side. She was rather intimidating, actually. Probably a good person to have staring Mayor McDonough down.

"Besides, my friend here—"

"Don't know you and I'm _not_ your friend."

Piper glanced up at the woman before she picked up her momentarily dropped jaw off of the floor, locking it back into place.

"Denizen," Piper corrected herself and inhaled sharply as McDonough approached the two. Geez, she was at least a head taller than him, and that was truly not saying much as the Mayor couldn't have been any taller than 5'4" which didn't exactly make him the poster boy for _power_. "This denizen needs entry... unless you're denying people the right to enter the city."

"Honestly?" The woman interjected, her hand waving about dismissively in the air. "I just need someone to point me in the right direction and that's it."

The mayor straightened the collar of his filthy tan suit and cleared his throat. _God_ , he was so annoying.

"Why, of course, miss..."

"Lu."

"Lu, yes. Where do you need to go?"

Lu remained quiet for a moment before clearing her nose. Huh, it seemed that she didn't even know where she was going to begin with.

"Bullets. Food."

"Well," McDonough laughed and clasped his hands together, motioning toward the smaller gate. "The market is open to people that don't intend on stirring pots like Piper here."

"Keep talking, McDonough. That's all you're good for."

Piper's brow furrowed as he glared at her. Everyone remained in blistering cold silence before Lu spoke up once more.

"I don't think she's gonna shut her mouth unless you let her back in. So," The nerve! "Save us both a headache and just let her go where she needs to go."

"Fine," McDonough pulled the rim of his trilby down tight over his fat head, eyes dancing back and forth between the two women. "Piper, consider yourself _and_ that little sister of yours on notice. I'll have that printer scrapped for parts if you write another nonsensical piece about synths being in the city."

Piper's jaw had yet again dropped in surprise when the man turned on the heel of his destroyed oxfords and retreated back to the elevator. Just like that and the woman had managed to sway McDonough albeit _slightly_. But she was back behind Diamond City's walls, probably not for good, and that's what mattered. Lu wasn't nice, but by God, if she got shit done. That was... admirable. What made her so different? Determination. But... for what?

"Uh... thanks, I guess," Piper tapped the back of her neck bashfully. And you know what? Not that she expected any different, but Lu said absolutely nothing in response and instead took off up the steps towards the market with her dog in tow. "Wait! Maybe I can help you."

Lu sputtered a laugh and glanced over her shoulder, "That's comical."

"No, really," Piper bounced up the stairs and took in a deep breath when the taller woman took off once again. God, she moved so _fast_. "You're a woman on a mission, I can tell."

"Yep, and that doesn't concern you."

"Listen," Piper cut in front of her and utilized her petite arms as a barricade. She'd force the strange, determined woman to talk to her even if it meant risking getting a swift boot to her ass. "Everything in Diamond City concerns me. Face it, you're a fish out of the water and I can _tell_."

Her similie was met by a guttural growl.

"Okay, I don't— I don't mean it like _that_ , but you're here for more than just ammo and some crappy snack cakes. Aren't you? Come on... you need _help_."

Lu's hazel eyes rolled up to the concrete ceiling where they remained fixated on for an uncomfortable amount of time before they refocused back on Piper. She had been carefully considering her response. Her mouth was pursed, the corners drawn deeply into her tan flesh.

"An infant."

"What?"

"A baby boy," Lu took another step up the stairs. They were practically nose to nose now, and Jesus, there was a detectable worry in her eyes that made Piper's heart drop all the way to her feet. "He's missing and I'm working on the only lead I have."

Piper nodded slowly and moved back to the side of the corridor.

"Well, you came to the right place."

A gloved hand reached out towards Lu's shoulder, and she swiftly shrank away. Understandable. A small twinge of guilt puckered pieces of her brain. Any piece of her that felt bitter towards this woman's previous actions was fading away.

"Because I know a guy that can track anything and _anyone_ down."


	4. the killer beside me

**A/N:** **What's good, MacCready? Finally made his entrance after multiple chapters, haha. Thanks for the hits everyone! This chapter is a bit long but I think it's worth the read. ;) Enjoy, and as always I encourage anyone to ask questions if you have any!**

* * *

 _ **i.**_

* * *

Even after haggling, two hundred and six caps could only buy Lu twenty-five 10mm rounds, ten shotgun shells, six unlabeled cans of mystery food that she planned on splitting with Dogmeat, and one impromptu haircut that some weirdo local kindly provided her with when Doctor Sun needed to be able to replace the slapdash, shitty stitch job she'd performed on herself after stumbling out of the vault.

Though she'd spent much of the morning insulting this Piper Wright's intelligence, the girl kept insisting on helping her after her plan to find the town's local detective fell through; he'd gone missing. It was taking some serious discipline, but Lu was becoming accustomed to the shit life was throwing at her. She wasn't going to find Shaun otherwise.

"Come back to the Publick," The reporter had said, practically dragging the newly bald (well, practically) woman to her allegedly humble abode. "You can eat there and I'll mark some nav points on your map. Since you're refusing to let me tag along."

"Yeah," Lu snorted, trailing after Piper as she wove through the bustling market of Diamond City. "You've got a kid of your own to take care of. Don't get me wrong, I'd risk your life in a heartbeat if the circumstances were different."

Her snark elicited a guffaw from Piper, who was jiggling a half-broken door handle to her repurposed trailer. Lu stepped forward and offered a slight kick to the base which was enough to knock the door back into place, once again rendering it usable.

" _Thanks_ ," Piper cocked her head as she motioned for both Lu and Dogmeat to follow her inside. "I'm choosing to ignore that sentiment given your delicate condition. How's your head, by the by?"

"Shitty," Lu eased herself into what was once a plush couch and tried to relax her tensed muscles. Thankfully, Sun had offered her a small dose of Med-X to kill any lasting pain. Dogmeat curled up at her feet and yawned. Poor guy. "But I'm far more interested in getting this show on the road."

Piper nodded and rounded the corner of her desk where she found boxes upon boxes of unorganized files. Eventually, she'd managed to locate an old map of downtown Boston and smacked it down onto her desk where she scribbled a few messy circles here and there.

"Alright, so..." Piper joined Lu on the couch and passed her the map. "Ellie mentioned Park Street Station. That's right here, but..."

"But?"

"It's right by Boston Common."

"And?" Lu brushed a few of her greasy baby hairs down onto her forehead as she leaned forward to take a better look at the map. "I've been there... not _recently_ , but before."

"Well, _see_ , Lu..." Piper peered over the edge of the map and bit down on her lip. "I don't really know how to say this, but people don't come back from the Common. There's something there that's been wiping people out for the last few months."

Lu groaned, her hands catching her head as her knee bounced. She was trying to work out a plan in her head.

"But," Piper's back straightened and her index finger shot into the air before landing back onto the map, not too far from the location of the Common. "There's a settlement here that definitely doesn't overcharge like Diamond City does. It's not a very nice settlement, but... let's just say they're fair."

"Yeah?"

"I'm thinking you could get your hands on a better form of protection. Hopefully."

"I don't have any more money," Lu sighed. "Fuck. But, if that's all I've got, it's all I've got."

Piper continued chewing on the bottom of her lip before retreating to her desk once more. She slid into her office chair and brought a clipboard close to her chest.

"I'll tell you what," Her eyes flitted up to her unlikely guests. Dogmeat wagged his tail and placed his head back on the ground. "If you'll give me maybe ten more minutes of your time for an interview - just a simple one, I'll pay you in cold, hard caps rather than a crappy dinner."

Lu's eyes squeezed shut before she stood to her feet and slapped her hands together.

"Fine."

"Good. _Good_ ," Piper donned a toothy grin as she motioned for Lu to join her. "Now... can you tell me how all of this started?"

God damn it. Ever since she'd thawed out, Lu was getting sucked into some straight bullshit. And that interview? It wasn't a simple one.

* * *

 _ **ii.**_

* * *

Lu should've just listened to Piper. Instead, she'd granted the nosy brat the interview she wanted which was a lot more revealing about her current situation than she really expected it to be, took her caps and set out for Park Street without making any detours. She didn't have time, and she was certain that she could sneak by whatever was squashing poor, ignorant passerbys. _"No one comes back from the Common",_ Piper had said. And with her nose in the air, Lu was more than determined to prove her wrong.

Until she actually didn't.

Her half-assed plan of tip-toeing through the streets was thwarted by a beast that could be compared to the size of the mutated reptile she'd gunned down back in Concord... only it was much more muscular, and it had a rather strong affinity for smashing pieces of concrete to throw at her. Luckily, and you're fucking wrong if you'd deny that it wasn't luck (which Lu certainly did as she was more than convinced that she had the skill to persevere in the wasteland), she and Dogmeat managed to escape the giant by ducking into an alleyway far too narrow for the creature's broad frame. Their only hope was to actually follow the crazy reporter's plan and stop by this settlement, but for now, they took refuge in a deserted (and completely fucking looted other than a dicey, half-eaten can of crisps) pharmacy.

"I know, I'm an idiot." Lu ran her fingers through Dogmeat's coat before dipping into one of the cans of food she'd purchased back in Diamond City. She alternated between feeding him and herself, ears alert to any outside noises, but eventually just decided to let her canine companion have the rest of the rather gross meat product. "For your troubles, y todo."

The Shepherd seemed to smile before taking the can into his paws, holding it upright as he powered through the contents. When he was done, he flopped onto his side and yawned. Lu glanced down at her PipBoy where the automated clock read 1:15 although it really felt much later in the day. With a groan, she gave in to the exhaustion that was tugging at her bloodshot eyes and curled into a ball on the busted up wood floor next to her companion. Her fingers found his side and she drew her body in closer to the dog.

Lu was glad she'd stumbled across him, and she hoped that their journey wouldn't end prematurely like that of her now decimated family.

They'd managed to nap for almost four hours before setting back out onto the hopefully cleared streets.

 _"Look for some neon signs,"_ Lu recalled Piper's instructions with a 'hmph'. _"You're looking for Goodneighbor."_

 _Goodneighbor_ was still a bit of a funny name to her. What was good in this world anymore? In the near week that she'd been awake, she'd been attacked by creatures and humans from all walks of life. She was dealing with crippling anger and ebbing into depression because the loss of her husband and son was finally setting in. There was nothing honestly good about this world. She was convinced.

Since the sun was setting, the crackling pink neon lights that Piper had mentioned were easy to spot. The streets, like she'd hoped, were indeed empty and the little trek to what used to be Scollay Square was rather straightforward. Practically went off without a hitch, actually. But, if Lu was growing to expect anything... it was that little strokes of luck were few and far between.

Dogmeat trailed close behind the woman as she approached the gates. Scrawled letters on a sign on the beaten down doors read, "for the people". Laughable. Honestly.

Lu took a deep breath and stepped into the commune only for her senses to immediately be assaulted by a peculiar stench that she couldn't place. Though her face remained mostly stoic, Dogmeat hacked in what she could only assume was disgust.

"Piper _was not_ fucking kidding." She mused as she allowed her eyes to scan the buildings inquisitively. This used to be a relatively nice place before the bombs dropped, and one of her first dates with Nate happened to be at a little bistro around the corner. God, she was sick of the memories that flooded back to her.

Her attention was immediately commandeered by a man dressed in leathers. He smelled of stale beer (or maybe it was piss) and was growing too close to her for comfort. Lu's chin remained pointed forward, but her peripherals were latched onto the man. He stopped close to her shoulder, and she could see that he was scanning her like she was a piece of meat.

"You're new here. I can tell because you smell _sweet_ ," His voice sounded like a cheese grater that scratched at her eardrums. Lu ran her tongue across her teeth tentatively as he continued. "So, sweetness. Let me tell you how shit works here in Goodneighbor."

"I implore you." Lu's hand was already focused on her pistol's holster. This guy was probably drunk out of his gourd and certainly hadn't noticed. Dogmeat, however, was growing agitated at the stranger and would only heel when Lu's fingers extended towards him.

"Big, fancy words don't get you far here. Caps do," He leaned in closer to her. His breath was hot and reeked. "And you have one of two choices: pay for protection with your money or your pussy. Truthfully, I'd rather fuck you nice and _hard_ , sweetness."

A smug smile jerked at the corner of her mouth as his hand caught her side in an attempt to pull her towards him. In the blink of an eye, her gun was drawn and her itchy trigger finger shot a bullet straight through his boot. The man recoiled and fell backward onto his ass with a blood-curdling scream, but Lu kept the barrel of her gun pointed straight between his eyes.

Moments later, a shell of a man stepped out of the shadows and clapped his charred hands together. He bore a resemblance to some of the creatures that'd bum-rushed her on the outskirts of Boston, but he was docile. In fact, he was laughing at the man on the ground.

"Oh, Finn. You fucking bastard," The zombie looking man adjusted the buttons on his reclaimed frock and snapped his fingers together, signaling a group of men and women (some of which looked just like him) up. They grabbed the pathetic mess of a wannabe rapist off of the cold stone ground that Lu desperately wanted to kick him into and moved him towards the door. "Get him out of here. Take his shit and bring it back to Daisy to sell. Rapers ain't got a place in society. Shoot him in the dick if he tries any of ya."

The bullet-footed man sent out slews of insults as he was roughly escorted from behind the walls of Goodneighbor. Maybe it did actually live up to its name.

"Y'alright, sister?" The man asked, inky eyes surveying her face for an ounce of discomfort. "You definitely handled yourself, but as mayor of this wonderful city, I gotta check. Name's Hancock."

His hand extended towards her, and Lu glared at it for a solid minute before she finally gave it a curt shake.

"Just point me to a place where I can get some grenades. Maybe a drink or something."

"All of your weapon needs can be met with KL-E-O behind me, and I highly recommend The Third Rail for a drink. Or six." He chuckled and stretched his arm out in a chivalrous manner. Odd. "Didn't catch your name."

"Lu."

She really just wanted to kill that fucking thing at the pond. Maybe she'd come back to Goodneighbor for business purposes at a later date, but she was just itching to go.

"Well, Lu. When you go for your drink, tell Charlie that your first one is on Hancock, yeah?"

"Wicked." The woman muttered, finally holstering her weapon before making her way to the storefront labeled Kill or Be Killed.

And she could definitely get behind that name, too.

* * *

 _ **iii.**_

* * *

Frags were expensive even here, but she was able to grab two before the rest of her expenses were almost depleted once again. Since Dogmeat still seemed tired, Lu figured that she didn't have much of a choice but to grab a drink from the bar the zombie man directed her to.

The Third Rail was befittingly housed in an old subway station, and upon entering, Lu could already tell that it was remarkably more clean than the streets of Goodneighbor. Another terribly scarred man directed her downstairs, informing her that Hancock had already sent word to Whitechapel Charlie that her first drink was on the house.

As she descended the staircase, beautiful melodies seemed to swirl in the air like the smoke of all of the Lucky Strikes that were presently being consumed by the patrons. A woman was in the center of a makeshift stage, sultry voice bellowing out of the speakers. It was almost... dare Lu to say or admit, relaxing.

"You Lu?" A Mr. Handy with a particularly strong British accent, maybe even thicker than Codsworth's, beckoned her up to the bar. When she'd nodded, he pushed an untouched bottle of Gwinnett pale towards her.

"Guess I don't get a choice then."

"Nah, don't have the resources to be givin' out my best bourbon," He snickered and popped the cap off of the bottle for her. "But Hancock also let me know to inform you that you get free reign of the lounge for tonight. Only one other person rents it out, so it should be... eh, relaxin'."

Lu shrugged her shoulders and pounded back the beer. Ales were never particularly her favorite, but she'd take what she could get for the time being. She was planning on saving her last can of water for Dogmeat anyway. She didn't even need to direct the dog to follow her back to the lounge.

Red lights and low voices set the mood for something particularly ominous. Wasn't there only supposed to be one guy back here? Lu paused outside and leaned against the wall, focusing on the people inside as best as she could through the woman's singing.

 _"If we find out you're working... Don't want a war... Stop taking jobs in the Commonwealth... Or else..."_

Though it was a choppy exchange, she could hear a clear response from the person that was very likely being threatened.

"Listen, I don't take orders from you. Why don't you take your girlfriend and get out of here before someone knocks those stupid hats off of your fat heads."

Lu couldn't help but snicker as two men lumbered out of the lounge, sharing a few insults about the quote "little fuck" that just gave them problems. Rounding the corner, Lu strolled into the dimly lit room with her beer pressed to her lips. The "little fuck" was sitting against the wall, eyes fixated on the door and a glass of whiskey in his hands.

His eyes were alert and the look of pure defiance in his eyes reminded her of her old partner before Shaun put her out of commission. Even the messy brown hair that was peeking from underneath his cap was distinctly reminiscent of her long-gone partner in justice. Yeah, she was definitely being blasted by pre-war memories today. Fuck her brain.

"Who are you?" He seethed, polishing off the rest of his glass and slamming it onto the end table to his side. "Why are you back here?"

"Not one of the _coños_ in the army gear," She rolled her eyes and plopped down onto one of the couches to the side with Dogmeat. "Why's it your business?"

"'Cuz I rent this room and no one else does."

"Well," Lu swallowed a mouthful of ale and shot the man a complacent smile. She didn't have time to put up with another man's shit today. "Not sorry to piss in your Sugar Bombs, kid, but you get to share the room with me tonight courtesy of Hancock."

"Bullsh-" He huffed and corrected his insult before it left his lips. Lu snickered. "Charlie hasn't even paid me for that last job and he's still lettin' people screw me. Don't call me kid, by the way."

"Wow, your level of privilege is astonishing." One of her brows rose as she finished her beer. She could honestly go for another one, and perhaps would. "No wonder why you've got enemies here."

"The Gunners can eat a load of brahmin sh- ugh- crap," He was already pouring himself another finger of whiskey. Upon surveying him more closely, he looked to be a few years younger than her. At least twenty-one or maybe two. Still practically a kid and braving the world. It was kind of sad in a way. "I do my own work on my own terms now. Speaking of which, if you're not looking to hire anyone just... leave me alone."

For hire huh? Maybe it was the beer she'd just drank in record time or maybe it was a fresh idea, but Lu was actually considering the option of hiring this kid. A sniper rifle (fucking nice one, too) was resting by his feet and he was positively strapped with rounds upon rounds of ammo. If they could get the jump on that fuckin' thing at the pond from the rooftops... _maybe_ she wouldn't even have to use the grenades.

Well, fuck it. She didn't have shit to lose anymore.

"Not that I need your help or anything, but I have something in the works that might interest a guy like you."


End file.
